Pressure bleed-off module for oil and gas wells

Abstract

A pressure bleed-off module for an oil well includes: an inlet receiving fluid from an annulus vent of the well; an outlet sending the received fluid to a kill valve of the well; and two paths coupled in parallel between the inlet and the outlet. Each path channels a flow of the received fluid from the inlet to the outlet and includes: a pressure relief valve dividing the path into an inlet side coupled to the inlet and an outlet side coupled to the outlet, opening when the pressure of the fluid in the inlet side exceeds a threshold, and closing when the inlet fluid pressure is below the threshold; pressure gauges measuring the inlet fluid pressure and the pressure of the fluid in the outlet side; a pressure recorder recording the measured inlet and outlet fluid pressures; and a sampling point for draining the fluid in the outlet side.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A pressure bleed-off module for an oil or gas well, the module comprising:
 an annulus vent of the oil or gas well; 
 a kill valve of the oil or gas well; 
 an inlet coupled to and configured to receive a fluid from the annulus vent; 
 an outlet coupled to the inlet and the kill valve, and configured to send the received fluid to the kill valve; and 
 a plurality of paths coupled in parallel between the inlet and the outlet, each path being configured to channel a flow of the received fluid from the inlet to the outlet, each path including:
 a pressure relief valve (PRV) dividing the path into an inlet side coupled to the inlet and an outlet side coupled to the outlet, and configured to open when the pressure of the received fluid in the inlet side exceeds a threshold and to close when the inlet fluid pressure is below the threshold; 
 a pressure gauge in the inlet side and configured to measure the inlet fluid pressure; 
 a pressure gauge in the outlet side and configured to measure the pressure of the received fluid in the outlet side; 
 a pressure recorder configured to record the measured inlet and outlet fluid pressures; and 
 a sampling point in the outlet side and configured to drain the received fluid in the outlet side. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The module of  claim 1 , wherein each path further includes:
 an isolation valve in the inlet side and configured to block the fluid flow in the inlet side; and 
 an isolation valve in the outlet side and configured to block the fluid flow in the outlet side. 
 
     
     
       3. The module of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the inlet comprises an isolation valve configured to block the received fluid from flowing between the inlet and each of the paths; and 
 the outlet comprises an isolation valve configured to block the received fluid from flowing between each of the paths and the outlet. 
 
     
     
       4. The module of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the inlet comprises a vent configured to vent the received fluid from the inlet; and 
 the outlet comprises a vent configured to vent the received fluid from the outlet. 
 
     
     
       5. A pressure bleed-off system comprising:
 the pressure bleed-off module of  claim 1 ; and 
 a check valve assembly having an inlet configured to couple to and input the sent fluid from the module outlet, and an outlet coupled to the assembly inlet and configured to couple to and output the sent fluid to the kill valve, wherein the check valve assembly is configured to allow the sent fluid to flow from the module outlet to the kill valve, and to block any fluid flow from the kill valve to the module outlet. 
 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 5 , wherein the check valve assembly comprises a plurality of one-way check valves coupled in series between the assembly inlet and the assembly outlet. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 a first high pressure hose configured to couple the module inlet to the annulus vent; 
 a second high pressure hose configured to couple the assembly outlet to the kill valve; and 
 a third high pressure hose configured to couple the module outlet to the assembly inlet. 
 
     
     
       8. A pressure bleed-off system for an oil or gas well, the system comprising:
 a pressure bleed-off module having an annulus vent of the oil or gas well, an inlet coupled to and configured to receive a fluid from the annulus vent, a kill valve of the oil or gas well, an outlet coupled to the inlet and the kill valve and configured to send the received fluid to the kill valve, and a path coupled between the inlet and the outlet and configured to channel a flow of the received fluid from the inlet to the outlet, wherein the path includes
 a pressure relief valve (PRV) dividing the path into an inlet side coupled to the inlet and an outlet side coupled to the outlet, and configured to open when the pressure of the received fluid in the inlet side exceeds a threshold and to close when the inlet fluid pressure is below the threshold, 
 an isolation valve in the inlet side and configured to block the fluid flow in the inlet side, 
 a pressure gauge in the inlet side and configured to measure the inlet fluid pressure, 
 a pressure gauge in the outlet side and configured to measure the pressure of the received fluid in the outlet side, 
 a pressure recorder configured to record the measured inlet and outlet fluid pressures, 
 a sampling point in the outlet side and configured to drain the received fluid in the outlet side, and 
 an isolation valve in the outlet side and configured to block the fluid flow in the outlet side; and 
 
 a check valve assembly having an inlet configured to couple to and input the sent fluid from the module outlet, an outlet coupled to the assembly inlet and configured to couple to and output the sent fluid to the kill valve, and a plurality of one-way check valves coupled in series between the assembly inlet and the assembly outlet and configured to allow the sent fluid to flow from the module outlet to the kill valve, and to block any fluid flow from the kill valve to the module outlet. 
 
     
     
       9. The system of  claim 8 , wherein the path comprises a plurality of paths coupled in parallel between the module inlet and the module outlet. 
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the module inlet comprises an isolation valve configured to block the received fluid from flowing between the inlet and each of the paths; and 
 the module outlet comprises an isolation valve configured to block the received fluid from flowing between each of the paths and the outlet. 
 
     
     
       11. The system of  claim 8 , wherein:
 the module inlet comprises a vent configured to vent the received fluid from the module inlet; and 
 the module outlet comprises a vent configured to vent the received fluid from the module outlet. 
 
     
     
       12. The system of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 a first high pressure hose configured to couple the module inlet to the annulus vent; 
 a second high pressure hose configured to couple the assembly outlet to the kill valve; and 
 a third high pressure hose configured to couple the module outlet to the assembly inlet. 
 
     
     
       13. An automated method of pressure bleed-off of a fluid from an oil or gas well using a pressure bleed-off module including an annulus vent of the oil or gas well and a kill valve of the oil or gas well, the method comprising:
 receiving the fluid from the annulus vent at an inlet of the module, the inlet being coupled to the annulus vent; 
 channeling, by each of a plurality of paths of the module, a flow of the received fluid from the inlet to an outlet of the module, the paths being coupled in parallel between the inlet and the outlet; and 
 sending the received fluid from the outlet to the kill valve, the outlet being coupled to the kill valve, 
 wherein, for each path, channeling the flow includes:
 dividing the path into an inlet side coupled to the inlet and an outlet side coupled to the outlet using a pressure relief valve (PRV) of the path; 
 opening the PRV when the pressure of the received fluid in the inlet side exceeds a threshold; 
 closing the PRV when the inlet fluid pressure is below the threshold; 
 measuring the inlet fluid pressure using a pressure gauge in the inlet side; 
 measuring the pressure of the received fluid in the outlet side using a pressure gauge in the outlet side; and 
 recording the measured inlet and outlet fluid pressures using a pressure recorder. 
 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 13 , further comprising for any path of the parallel paths:
 blocking the fluid flow in the inlet side using an isolation valve in the inlet side; and 
 blocking the fluid flow in the outlet side using an isolation valve in the outlet side. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 13 , further comprising for any path of the parallel paths, draining the received fluid in the outlet side using a sampling point in the outlet side. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 blocking the received fluid from flowing between the inlet and each of the paths using an isolation valve of the inlet; and 
 blocking the received fluid from flowing between each of the paths and the outlet using an isolation valve of the outlet. 
 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 venting the received fluid from the inlet using a vent of the inlet; and 
 venting the received fluid from the outlet using a vent of the outlet. 
 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 13 , wherein sending the received fluid comprises:
 inputting the sent fluid from the module outlet to an inlet of a check valve assembly, the assembly inlet being coupled to the module outlet; 
 outputting the sent fluid to the kill valve from an outlet of the check valve assembly, the assembly outlet being coupled to the assembly input and to the kill valve; 
 allowing the sent fluid to flow from the module outlet to the kill valve using the check valve assembly; and 
 blocking any fluid flow from the kill valve to the module outlet using the check valve assembly. 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18 , wherein allowing the sent fluid to flow from the module outlet to the kill valve and blocking any fluid flow from the kill valve to the module outlet each comprise using a plurality of one-way check valves coupled in series between the assembly inlet and the assembly outlet. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 coupling the module inlet to the annulus vent using a first high pressure hose; 
 coupling the assembly outlet to the kill valve using a second high pressure hose; and 
 coupling the module outlet to the assembly inlet using a third high pressure hose.